Angle plug



ANGLE PLUG Filed March 19, 1965 MIJ 52 Clarence Smith ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,335,395 ANGLE PLUG Clarence M. Smith, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 441,066 9 Claims. (Cl. 339-107) The present invention relates to wiring devices and, more particularly, to plugs in which a cord is extended from' the plug at an angle to the extending direction of the plug blades.

Angle plugs of the type described have special utility, for example, Where limited space is available in front of a wall-mounted receptacle to which it is desired to attach a plug. In addition to generally desirable plug features such as manufacturing facility, convenient wiring and dead-front construction, an angle plug'desirably should have relatively small depth outwardly from the face of the rreceptacle to maximize its special space utility, a relatively flat outer face to minimize the possibilities of accidental dislodgement, and an indexable cap which provides the user with Ia lchoice of directions in which the cord extends from Vthe plug along the face of the receptacle.

In accordance with the broad principles of the present invention, an angle plug comprises a body member having a face side through which the plug blades extend to provide dead-front construction. Each of the plug blades has a terminal portion disposed on an inner side of the body member, and a retaining member is disposed against the body and over the terminals to provide for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with each terminal and to secure the blades in place.

A cover member is disposed over the retaining member and it is secured to and indexed in place by a fastener which in turn secures the retaining and body members together. The cover has a side opening for angular or lateral extension of the cord. A cord clamping member preferably is insulative and operates with an insulative portion of the cover to clamp the cord and further includes a portion for enclosing a part of thev cord opening in the cover.

It is,.therefore, an object of the invention to provide a novel angle plug characterized with eiciency in construction and utilization.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel angle plug characterized with manufacturing economy in the use of parts.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel,

cord clamp angle plug which is characterized with relatively small depth to provide favorable space utilization when attached to a receptacle.

It is an additional object of the-invention to provide al novel cord clamp angle plug which is characterized with a relatively at outer surface to minimize the risk of its dislodgement when attached to a receptacle.

j It is another object of the invention to provide a novel cord clamp vangle plug-in which a cover thereof is readily indexed in a'variet'y of positions to provide the user a choice of directions in which the cord can extend from the plug.`

Y It is a further object ofthe invention to provide a novel cord clamp angle plug whichprovides for convenient longitudinal wiring and reliable conductor isolation even though ,the cord is extended angularly or laterally from the plug.- y .k

An additional object of the invention is to provide-a novel cord clamp angle plug which provides for eflicient cord clamping. These and other objects of the `invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following derice talilled description along with the attached drawing, in W ich:

FIGURE 1 is atop plan view of an angle plug constructin accordance with the principles of the invention; FIG. 2 is an end elevation view of the plug shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a vertical section of the plug of FIG. 1 to illustrate the internal construction thereof and it is taken along the reference line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of a cover employed as a part of the plug of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 shows a top plan view of the plug of FIG. 1 with the cover removed;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of an indexing fastener employed in the assembly of the plug of FIG. l;

FIG. 7 shows a bottom plan View of a clamping member employed with the cover of FIG. 4 to clamp a cord extending from the plug; and

FIG. 8 shows a wall-mounted receptacle and the manner in which the plug cover can be oriented in different directions to provide different extending directions for the plug cord.

More specically, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a cord clamp angle plug 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. It includes an insulative body member 12 having slots through a face side 14 thereof for outward extension of conductive power blades 16 and 18. In this case, a conductive grounding prong 20 also extends through the plug face side 14 to characterize the plug 10 as -a grounding plug. Since the plug face yside 14 is an integral enclosing part of the plug 10, dead-front construction is provided. Each blade 16 or 18 or prong 20 is provided (FIG. 3) with a terminal portion 22. seated against a rearwardly facing side of the body member 12 and having a wire attachment screw 24 and nut 2.6 secured thereto.

An insulative retaining member 28 is disposed over the body portion 12 and provides respective pockets 30 or the like within which the terminal portions 24 are located in isolation from eachother. As generally described in -relav tion to a device similar to the plug 10 in a copending appli- 30 give convenient lateral access to the screws 24 for wire attachment and detachment, and openings 34 Iare provided I of reference and by its use 38 electrically,

in' the retaining member 28 `for convenient longitudinal isertion of wires from a cord 36 into the respective pockets 30. The word longitudinal is used as a convenient term it is meant generally to refer to the direction in which the plug blades extend.

The retaining member 28 is secured to the body member' 12 preferably by means of a fastener or drive screw 38 having threads 40 securely engaged with a boss 42 of the body member 12 and havinga head portion 44 with shoulder means 46 engaging the vretaining member 28 in a secure, position. In this instance, an insulative shield member 48 is molded asian integral? part ofthe retaining in isolating the fastener but in this or other applications it may be desirable to employ a heat shrink tube (not shown) or the like aboutthe fastener head 44 for this purpose.

Once the wires are longitudinally inserted into the pockets 30 for attachment to the terminal portions 22, they are bent as indicated by the reference character 50.

member 28 to isolate or to aidl A cover 56 is disposed over the retaining member 28 and the cord 36 is angularly or laterally extended through an opening 52 in a sidewall 54 of the cover 56. The cover sidewall S4 is seated on a circumferential shoulder 58 of the body member 12 substantially to enclose the `retaining member 28 and the otherwise exposed screws 24 therewithin. The sidewall 54 is generally circular and extends circumferentially around the body 12 in engagement with the shoulder 58 except at one side where the sidewall is interrupted by the opening 52, as shown in FIG. 4.

Preferably, the cord opening 52 in the cover sidewall 54 extends to .a frontally located or lower edge 60 of the cover 56. The cord opening 52 thus is in the form of a slot extending upwardly or rearwardly from the cover edge 60. In this manner, molding of the cover 56 is simplified through the elimination of side wedges or similar expedients.

A rear or top wall 62 of the cover 56 is `relatively flat and generally extends in the lateral direction to minimize the risk of dislodging the plug when it is attached to .a receptacle 11 as shown in FIG. 8. An opening 64 is provided through the cover wall 62 for insertion of a screw 66 which is threadedly engaged with the fastener head 44 thereby -to secu-re the cover 56 as a part of the plug assembly. A boss 68 extends inwardly from the top cover wall 62 and extends over the retaining member shield 48 to assure total electrical isolation ofthe fastener 38.

The fastener head 44 is a plural sided head portion and is shown as being of square configuration with four sides. The opening 64 extends through the boss 68 and is also of square configuration to mate with the head 44. In assembling the cover S6, therefore, it can be mated with the fastener head 44 in any of four positions so that the opening 52 through which the cord extends can be located in four different positions with respect to the body 12. The head 44 could of course have more or less than four sides, with a corresponding configuration of the opening 64, if a different number of possible positions of the cover 56 is desired. The cord 36 can thus extend from the plug 10 in any of four (or more or less) directions with two such positions shown in FIG. 8 as indicated by the reference characters 70 and 72 respectively.

To clamp the cord 36 in place and thereby provide strain relief, a portion 74 of the cover 56 extends laterally outwardly of the sidewall 54 and is employed as one clamping element. A separate insulative clamping member 76 is adjustably secured to the clamping element 74 by means of screws 78 to operate as an opposed clamping element. Thus, a channel 80 is provided between the clamping elements 74 and 76 for passage of the cord 36, and when the screws 78 are tightened the cord 36 is securely clamped by the elements 74 and 76. Special bosses 82 can be formed on the clamping member 76 to provide the required or desired length of threading for mating with the screws 78.

To enclose lthe inner area of the plug 10 otherwise exposed by the cord opening or slot 52 in the cover sidewall 54, the clamping member 76 preferably includes an arcuate wall portion 84 which ts against the cover sidewall 54 and over the cover slot 52. The arcuate extent of the wall portion 84 is preferably suthcient to provide some overlap with the cover sidewall 54 as indicated by the reference character 86. When the clamping member 76 is fully drawn to the cover clamping portion 74 (minimum clampable cord size position) lower arcuate wall edge 88 previously extends at least to edge 90 of the cover sidewall S4 (not illustrated in this position). When the clamping member 76 is extended to the maximum clampable cord size position, the arcuate wall edge 88 is in or just short of the plane of the plug face side 14.

Since a single fastener holds the plug retainer and body parts together and simultaneously provides an indexing function for the cover 56 and since' a single separate cord clamp part is employed, it is clear that manufacturing etiiciency is achieved for the plug 10. The advantages of longitudinal wiring with angular or lateral cord extension, ready cord clamping, relatively small plug-depth and a relatively at outer plug side provide efficiency for the user.

The foregoing description has been set forth only to illustrate the principles of the invention. Accordingly, it is desired that the invention be not limited by the embodiment described, but, rather, that it be accorded an interpretation consistent with the scope and spirit of its broad principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal sertion of a cord wire into engagement With said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed over said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall with an opening therein for extension of -the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, and means for clamping said cord to said plug.

2. A cord clamp angle plug as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body member is provided with a pair of power blade slots and a grounding prong slot, and a pair of power blades and a grounding prong extending through said slots.

3. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having a least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and having a wire opening for longi-tudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed over said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall with an opening therein for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, means for electrically isolating said fastener head, and means for clamping said cord to said plug.

4. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and having a wire opening for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed about said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having ya sidewall with an opening therein for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, a shield member integrally molded with said retaining member and disposed about said fastener head to provide at least partial electrical isolation therefor, and means for clamping said cord to said plug.

5. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and having a wire opening for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed about said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall with an opening therein for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, a shield member integrally molded with said retaining member and disposed about said fastener head, said mating means on said cover including an integrally molded boss extending inwardly thereof into mating engagement with said fastener head and having a portion thereof extending over said shield member to provide full electrical isolation for said fastener head, and means for clamping said cord to said plug.

6. A cord clamp angle plug as set forth in claim 5, wherein a threaded fastener is engaged with said fastener head to secure said cover means in relation to said body member.

7. An angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and having a wire opening for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed about said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall with an opening therein for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, and means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot.

8. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and having a wire opening for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed about said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall with an opening therein for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, a portion of said cover disposed laterally outwardly of said cover sidewall and formed to operate as a cord clamp portion, and a separate insulative clamp member cooperating with said cover clamp portion to clamp the cord.

9. A cord clamp angle plug comprising a body portion having at least one slot through a face side thereof and having a rearwardly facing peripheral shoulder, a blade extending longitudinally through said slot and having a terminal portion secured rearwardly of said body member face side, a retaining member disposed over said terminal portion and against said body member and having a wire opening for longitudinal insertion of a cord wire into engagement with said terminal portion, a fastener securing said retaining member to said body member and having a plural sided head portion disposed rearwardly of said retaining member, cover means disposed about said retaining member and secured to said fastener head, said cover means having a sidewall in engagement with said body shoulder and having an opening in its sidewall for extension of the cord from the plug interior in a direction angularly disposed to the blade longitudinal direction, said cover sidewall cord opening extending to an edge of said cover sidewall and to said body shoulder, means on said cover means for mating with said fastener head to index said cover cord opening in any of several predetermined positions in relation to said body member blade slot, a portion of said cover disposed laterally outwardly of said cover sidewall and formed to operate as `a cord clamp portion, a separate insulative clamp member cooperating with said cover clamp portion to clamp the cord, and said insulative clamp member having an arcuate portion thereof disposed against said cover sidewall substantially to enclose said cord opening from said body member shoulder to a predetermined distance between the rearmost extent of said cord opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,950,036 3/1934 Preston 339-103 X 2,276,557 3/1942 Woodhead 339-103 X 2,542,609 2/ 1951 Wyglendowski 339-196 3,137,536 6/1964 Healy 339-103 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

ALFRED S, TRASK., RICHARD E. MOORE,

Examiners.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, 335, 325 Dated August 8, 1967 Invent0r(s) Clarence IVI. Smith It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as show-n below:

In Column LL, between lines 17 and 18, insert:

por-tion and having a wire opening for longitudinal "Ln-l signed and sealed this 25th day of January 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

ROBERT GOTTSCHALK USCOMM-DC 603764969 

1. A CORD CLAMP ANGLE PLUG COMPRISING A BODY PORTION HAVING AT LEAST ONE SLOT THROUGH A FACE SIDE THEREOF, A BLADE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID SLOT AND HAVING A TERMINAL PORTION SECURED REARWARDLY OF SAID BODY MEMBER FACE SIDE, A RETAINING MEMBER DISPOSED OVER SAID TERMINAL SERTION OF A CORD WIRE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TERMINAL PORTION, A FASTENER SECURING SAID RETAINING MEMBER TO SAID BODY MEMBER AND HAVING A PLURAL SIDED HEAD PORTION DISPOSED REARWARDLY OF SAID RETAINING MEMBER, COVER MEANS DISPOSED OVER SAID RETAINING MEMBER AND SECURED TO SAID FASTENER HEAD, SAID COVER MEANS HAVING A SIDEWALL WITH AN OPENING THEREIN FOR EXTENSION OF THE CORD FROM THE PLUG INTERIOR IN A DIRECTION ANGULARLY DISPOSED TO THE BLADE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, MEANS ON SAID COVER MEANS FOR MATING WITH SAID FASTENER HEAD TO INDEX SAID COVER CORD OPENING IN ANY OF SEVERAL PREDETERMINED POSITIONS IN RELATION TO SAID BODY MEMBER BLADE SLOT, AND MEANS FOR CLAMPING SAID CORD TO SAID PLUG. 